Traditionally, communication transmissions have occurred through transmission of signals on electric cabling. Fiber-optic networks are increasingly being used in place of traditional electronic cabling, because of their high transmission capacity and their reduced capacity for incorporating interference. Such fiber-optic cables are used, for example, in the communications infrastructure of buildings and other enterprises. To facilitate the use of optical fiber cabling, it is important to have connectors that are reliable, easily releasable and easy-to-handle. The number of cables to be inter connected has increased as communications and bandwidth growth has occurred and an increasing number of such connectors must be accommodated in existing spaces. Also, so systems that accommodate different types of cabling, e.g. fiber optic and/or electric, are desirable.
The prior art has disclosed many types of connectors for fiber optic cables. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,318,677; 6,811,321; 6,464,403; 5,984,531 and 5,287,425; and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005/0135753 and 2003/0165300, each of which is herein incorporated by reference
A need exists, however, for a system and a method for connecting multiple optical fibers together using a simple and easy-to-use connector, that is rugged and less prone to environmental factors. Such a connector system should, preferably, be expandable so that different numbers of optical fibers can be connected using the same connector. Such a system should, preferably, also accommodate electrical connections in addition to fiber optic connections, so that single lines can replace multiple existing lines, where some of the replaced lines must remain electrical and not switched over to optical fiber.